


If You Change Your Mind (I'm the First in Line)

by castles_and_crowns



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Minor Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-07-16 01:10:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16075223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/castles_and_crowns/pseuds/castles_and_crowns
Summary: Ben hates watching his best friend/roommate Rey be unlucky in love. Finally, he decides to do something about it.Or, 5 bad dates + 1 good one.





	1. Date 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is obviously Lucasfilm's world--those lucky ducks.

When Ben Solo opens the door to enter his apartment, he almost crashes into his best friend/roommate Rey Niima, who is clearly in the process of running out the door.

 

“Whoa, there,” he laughs, just as they narrowly avoid running into each other.

 

"Sorry,” she says breathlessly. “I’ve been rushing around since I got off of work. I’m going to be late.”

 

“Late?”

 

They’re still standing in their doorway. Ben takes in Rey’s appearance and notices that she’s dressed a little nicer than she usually is. Rey’s attire mostly consists leggings and old T-shirts (many of which are his), but tonight she’s in a nice pair of dark wash jeans and a loose black tank top.

 

“Yeah. I’m going on a coffee date,” she says, smiling excitedly.

 

“Oh yeah? With who?”

 

“Someone I matched with on Tinder,” she replies, shifting her eyes away from his.

 

“You actually signed up for that thing?”

 

He doesn’t mean for it to come out harshly, but it does. Rey blushes and crosses her arms against her chest self-consciously.

 

“Well, yeah. It’s harder to meet people as you get older.  You gotta do what you gotta do, you know?”

 

Ben shrugs. “I guess so.”    

 

Rey gives him a long, examining look. Ben’s used to these looks from her, but it doesn’t make this one any less intimidating. Rey knows Ben probably better than anyone, and she knows how he feels about dating: _he hates it._ She always gets on his case about it, too, trying to convince him that a handful of bad dates aren’t enough reason to give up completely, but Ben lets it go in one ear and out the other.

 

Finally, Rey shakes her head, like she’s not even going to _try_ to convince him that dating is a good and necessary thing.

 

“I’ll see you later tonight,” she says.

 

“Yeah, see you later. Have fun and make good decisions.”

 

Rey snorts and rolls her eyes, as they switch positions—her stepping out of the door and him stepping in.

 

“I will.”

           

 

***

 

Sitting up and with his socked feet on the coffee table and an old fleece blanket pathetically covering his lap, Ben falls asleep on the couch and remains this way when Rey gets home from her date. He’s only awoken when he feels a weight plop down beside him on the couch. He slowly opens his eyes and turns to his left to see Rey, who’s already changed back into sweatpants and one of his old band T-shirts, is sitting next to him. She’s even washed off her makeup and put up her brown hair in a messy bun on the top of her head.

 

“Hey,” he says sleepily. “How’d it go?”

 

Rey frowns and lets out a groan before saying, “Awful. I’m never going on Tinder again.”

 

Ben sits up on the couch. “Hmm. Sounds like you could use some wine.”

 

Rey’s eyes light up. “I’d _love_ some wine.”

 

Ben rises from the couch and goes to the kitchen to grab two wine glasses from their cabinets.

 

“So what happened?” he asks.

 

“Well, it started off when I wanted to order a pastry with my coffee. He asked me if I ‘really wanted to do that’ because the pastries are _so unhealthy.”_

 

“Seriously?” Ben asks, his eyes wide as he opens the fridge to grab the bottle of cheap pinot grigio Rey bought a few weeks back.

 

“Yeah, seriously. I mean, what the hell, man? You know how I am about my sweets.”

 

Ben chuckles. “Yeah. So, did you wind up still getting one?”

 

“Obviously. Nobody tells me what to order. You know that.”

 

“I do,” Ben says seriously as he unscrews the top from the bottle and begins to pour.

 

One time a few years back—before Ben knew better—they had gone out to a nice restaurant to celebrate Ben getting accepted into graduate school. Rey had wanted to order a hamburger and fries and when Ben tried to convince her to get something a little nicer, she went off on him. He learned that day to _never_ try and influence Rey’s food choices.

 

“So, we sit down and for the rest of the date, he just talks my ear off about his interest in his health and his fitness routine. The only questions he asked me were related to what supplements I took and what my gym routine was like. I eat gummy vitamins like they’re candy, and I haven’t been to the gym in two years!”

 

“Sounds awful,” Ben comments. He picks up the two wine glasses—the one that is significantly more full is for Rey—and returns to the couch.

 

In Ben’s absence, Rey has stretched out on the couch. She is leaning back against the armrest, while her legs take up two of the three cushions.

 

He hands Rey her glass and she takes a long gulp before continuing.

 

“Then, at the end of the date, he asked if I wanted to go out again…as if I hadn’t been giving out signals all night that I thought he was incredibly obnoxious.” She snorts at her own words and then takes another significant sip from her glass.

 

“What’d you tell him?”

 

“You should be proud of me,” Rey says, kicking Ben’s side with her foot. “I was nice and didn’t tell him to fuck off like I wanted to. I just told him I wasn’t interested and thanked him for the coffee and _especially_ the pastry.”

 

Ben had been in the middle of a sip and chokes a little on the wine when he hears Rey’s reply.

 

“Please tell me you actually said ‘especially the pastry.’”

 

Rey shrugs and gives him a devilish look. “I had to be a little bit of an ass.”

 

And with that, she downs the rest of her glass and gets up to pour herself some more.

 

Soon after, Ben asks if Rey wants to watch a movie. Rey agrees, and they decide on _Bridesmaids._ Once they’re settled into the film, Rey adjusts herself on the couch, moving to sit on the middle cushion so that she can better share the blanket with Ben. She does this from time to time, scoots a little too close to him, and every time she does, it momentarily causes Ben’s heart to speed up.

 

A little over halfway through the movie, Ben feels Rey drop her head to his shoulder. Moments like this, though they happen, are even rarer than her scooting over to share the blanket. When she does this, Ben’s heart doesn’t just speed up; it goes haywire, banging against his chest like it’s trying to escape.

 

He spares a quick glance down at her and sees she’s still awake, captivated by the movie she’s seen probably twenty times. It’s her comfort movie, Ben knows, and this isn’t the first time he’s indulged her by watching it with her after a stressful day.

 

After about twenty more minutes, however, a slight snore escapes Rey, and when Ben looks down, he sees that she’s certifiably knocked out. Smiling to himself, he adjusts the blanket so that it’s laying completely on her and puts a gentle arm around her shoulders.


	2. Date 2

Ben is not sure how he ended up in a crowded bar on a Thursday night, dressed in his best pair of dark jeans a nice button down, and surrounded by single people.

 

Okay, maybe he does know how he ended up here. Rey convinced him to come, and he’d pretty much do anything for her. Unfortunately, that includes attending a speed-dating event.

 

Rey had heard about this speed-dating event a few days back and had apparently made it her mission to get Ben to go with her. She started off with her usual ranting about how he never dates and when that didn’t work, she guilt-tripped him into it by telling him she would need him there just in case one of the speed-daters turned out to be a creep. Of course, that had worked.

 

So, here he is with Rey by his side attending this terrible event, which is set to start in five minutes.

 

Rey, who holds a vodka cranberry in her hand, is buzzing nervously next to him as she scans the room. “I look okay, right?”

 

Ben quickly eyes her up and down, taking in her teal blue sundress that perfectly hugs her curves and her lightly made-up face. “You look great. I already told you that before we left the house.”

 

“Yeah, but it’s hot in here. I’m afraid I’m sweating off all my makeup, or worse, have sweat stains.”

 

“You don’t,” Ben tells her. Then he turns to face her fully. “You look beautiful.”

 

Rey smiles and swats at his arm. “You look pretty good yourself.”

 

Despite his somewhat prickly mood, Ben can’t help but grin in response. “Thank you.”

 

A moment later, a woman in her mid-thirties comes onto the small stage in the bar that was sometimes used for karaoke and begins explaining the rules of the night. There are thirty people in total, fifteen men and fifteen women. Each “date” would last four minutes and at the end of the four minutes, a bell would ding. The women are to stay seated while the men move to the seat to their right. Each single person would be given a “score sheet” and they then are supposed to write down the name of each date and beside it, a check or an “X” depending on if they were interested in seeing the person again. People who matched would be given the other person’s contact information within forty-eight hours of the event.

 

“Good luck,” Rey says before leaving Ben on his own.

 

Ben goes to sit in his chair and finds himself sitting across from a very attractive redhead, whose nametag reads “Leila.” Immediately, he knows he’s going to mark an “X” next to the woman’s name. It’s way too close to his mother’s.

 

Ben finds a reason to put an “X” next to everyone woman he sits across from. A small part of him feels guilty about it, but he didn’t want to be here anyway.

 

Rey is the ninth woman he sits across from.

 

“Ben,” she says, smirking as she pretends to read his name tag. “Cute name.”

 

Ben rolls his eyes but returns her smirk. “And yours is Rey? Isn’t that usually a guy’s name?”

 

Rey opens her mouth, as if to fuss at him, but instead she just laughs. “Nice one.”

 

Ben is pleased with himself and his smirk grows into a full-on grin as he says, “So, _Rey_ , tell me about yourself.”

 

“Well, I’m twenty-six years old, and I work as a mechanical engineer. I love to run and will be competing in my first marathon in a couple months. I live with my best friend, and I really would like to get a dog soon.”

 

Ben cracks up at the dog comment. She’s been begging him to let her adopt a dog for months, but he refuses to have one in the apartment.

 

“And what about you?” she asks with a twinkle in her eye.

 

“Well, my name is Ben as you know, and I turn twenty-eight on Halloween. I gradated with my Ph.D. in developmental psychology, and I currently work as an instructor at the university in town. I really enjoy reading, and I am absolutely not a dog person.”

 

“Guess that means a big, fat ‘X’ for you then,” Rey says, feigning disappointment.

 

Ben shrugs, playing along. “Too bad.”

 

They both chuckle, and then Rey asks, “But seriously. How are things going? Met anyone you think you might be interested in?”

 

“Eh,” Ben replies non-committedly. If Rey knew he was marking an “X” next to every woman he met, she’d be mad at him, so he leaves that part out.

 

Rey quirks an eyebrow. “Just ‘eh?’”

 

“Yeah, there are some nice women, I suppose. I’m not sure there are any sparks though.”

 

“Sparks aren’t always necessary. At least not within the first four minutes,” she tells him knowingly.

 

"Maybe,” Ben sighs.

 

But Ben knows what it’s like to actually feel sparks for someone. And he knows that when you feel sparks for someone, you’re not at all interested in trying to get with someone you don’t feel that immediate connection with.

 

Just then, the bell dings.

 

Rey smiles, grabs his hand from across the table, and squeezes it. “Stay positive. Good luck.”

 

“You too,” Ben responds. He quickly squeezes her hand back before getting up and scooting to the right to meet the next woman he most certainly will not be interested in.

 

At the end of the night, he and Rey fill out their score sheets and turn them in. He marks an ‘X’ next to every woman’s name, though his pencil lingers next to Rey’s name. He considers putting a check there. He’d _like_ to put a check there. But ultimately, he doesn’t. It’s pointless because if she had been interested in him, she wouldn’t have dragged him with her to a speed-dating event.

 

As Ben drives them back to their apartment, he asks her how she thought the night went.

 

“Honestly, not great,” she says, and Ben’s heart almost aches when he hears the disappointment in her voice. She so desperately wants to find a connection, and he desperately wants her to be happy—whether that happiness involves him or not. “I only met, like, three guys that weren’t either assholes or weirdos. And I’m pretty sure none of them reciprocated that interest. I just got the vibes that they weren’t interested, you know?”

 

Not for one second does Ben believe that none of the guys here are interested in Rey. _She’s Rey._ He almost tells her as much, but he doesn’t. Something stops him.

 

“So, do you think you’ll do this again?” he asks, hoping the answer is ‘no.’

 

Rey shakes her head. “Nah, I don’t think so. It wasn’t as enjoyable as I expected it to be.”

 

Ben lets out the smallest sigh of relief, which Rey catches. She turns to him in the car and grabs his bicep. “And even if I do decide to go to an event again, I promise I won’t drag you with me.”

 

“Thank God,” he says, chuckling.


	3. Date 3

It’s early Saturday evening.

 

Ben is typing away at his laptop, making an exam for his Psych 1000 students, when Rey exits her room. Ben glances over at her out of his periphery and then has to do a double take.

 

“ _Whoa_ , where are you going?” Ben asks, taking in her whole appearance.

 

Rey is all dressed up in a tight forest green knee-length dress that flares out the tiniest bit just above the knee. Her hair is half-up and in loose curls, and she’s clearly spent way more time on her makeup than she usually does.

 

“The theatre,” Rey practically squeals. “Remember that guy who the company brought in to help me with that huge project a couple months back?”

 

“Uh, not really.”

 

Rey rolls her eyes. “Really? Remember, I said he was that super cute guy I was working with? David?”

 

_Okay, yeah._

 

He remembers Rey gushing about some guy she worked on a big project with a couple months ago. It had bothered him at that time, and he has a feeling what Rey’s about to say is going to bother him now.

 

“Oh, yeah, David.”

 

“Well, he called me up and invited me to see a show with him tonight. I _knew_ he had been flirting with me during the project! I guess he just finally worked up the courage to do something about it.”

 

Ben plasters a smile on his face. “That’s great, Rey. I hope you have a great time.”

 

She takes a deep breath, and it’s clear that she’s a little nervous. “Thank you.”

 

Rey walks up to him, plants a quick kiss on his cheek, and then sort of stands there for a moment. It’s clear to Ben that she wants to say something but looks a little uncomfortable. She’s sort of teetering back and forth in her heels and looking at him with a somewhat bashful expression.

 

“What?” Ben asks, after a moment when she doesn’t say anything.

 

Rey clears her throat. “Um, nothing. Just…don’t wait up for me tonight.”

 

“Oh.” Ben’s eyes go big, and he nods. “Okay.”

 

She gives him a shy smile and nods before grabbing her clutch from a table by the door.

 

“Be safe,” he tells her, as he watches her leave, bouncing away with excitement.

 

“I will be,” she answers, her smile growing as she walks out the door.

 

***

 

Ben does wait up—or at least attempts to. He knows deep down that it’s probably fruitless. With the way Rey looked tonight and how excited she had been for this date, he knows she’s not coming home. He tries not to let the thoughts of what she might be doing with that guy infiltrate his mind, so he gets to work on a six pack of cheap beer and sits on the couch, watching crappy horror movies.

 

About four and a half beers in, Ben’s eyelids begin to droop. He glances at the time on his phone and sees that it’s half past midnight.

 

Yeah, she’s not coming home.

 

He shakes his head, finishes his fifth beer, and then allows his body to nod off. But just as he does, he hears the front door unlock.

 

His eyes pop open and his head snaps to the door.

 

Rey lets herself in, and he immediately observes that her eyes are red-rimmed and her hair is all mussed.   She looks like a walking disaster.

 

Immediately, he jumps off the couch and hustles over to her.

 

“What happened? What’s wrong?”

  

She shakes her head and lets out a long sigh, while lightly brushing off his attempt to put his hands on her upper arms.

 

“Rey,” he says softly. “Did he hurt you?”

 

The thought makes him sick to his stomach, and if this guy did hurt Rey in any way, Ben’s going to knock the guy’s teeth in.

 

“No. No, he didn’t.”

 

He exhales in relief. “Okay, good.” He examines her face for a moment more. She’s not looking him in the eye and instead is looking resolutely at the floor. “But something clearly happened. Do you want to talk about it?”

 

It’s then when she whimpers a little—though there aren't any tears—and looks up to meet his eyes. “I’m such an idiot, Ben.”

 

“You’re not, Rey,” he tells her, as he ushers her over to the couch.

 

She sits down and wraps herself in a blanket. Ben sits beside her, watching her carefully.

 

“The night started off wonderfully. The play was amazing,” she says. “And so was he—at least at first. He was so charming and kind and funny, just like he had been when we worked together. After the show, we got dessert at this cute little bakery by his house. He fed me a piece of his chocolate cake, and he just made it all so… _sexy._ And I was _sold_ , if you know what I mean.”

 

Ben nods, while trying not to let his distaste show.

 

“Then he asked me if I wanted to go back to his place, and I said yes. So, we get there and after a glass of wine, we… get started, you know?”

 

Ben is thankful that she is sparing him the specifics.

 

“Yeah,” Ben mumbles.

 

“So, we’re in his room…and things are happening…and all of a sudden, we hear the front door open. He immediately jumps away from me and starts cursing under his breath. The next thing I know, this _woman_ barges into the room.”

 

“Shit, he was _married_?”

 

“That’s what _I_ thought,” Rey replies, “But no. It turns out he and his ex-girlfriend still like to fool around from time to time.”

 

“And she still has a key to his place?”

 

Rey nods. “She still has a key to his place.”

 

“Please tell me you immediately got the hell out of there,” Ben says, shaking his head in disgust at this story.

 

“Yeah, but not before the ex-girlfriend had a chance to call me all kind of nasty names, while David just stood there and did nothing about it.  Finally, he said to me, 'I think you should go.' So, I called an Uber, waited for it outside on the curb in front of his house, and now here I am. Home again,” she says, shrugging her shoulders.

 

"You could have called me,” he tells her, grabbing her hand from the other side of the couch and squeezing it.

 

“I thought you’d be asleep. I asked you not to wait up for me.”

 

Ben frowns. He couldn’t tell her that he _had_ been waiting up for her—or at least that he had been trying to. Instead, he squeezes her hand again.

 

“I’m sorry that happened to you. You don’t deserve that.”

 

She looks up from where their hands are conjoined and smiles at him, but Ben can see the pain underneath the surface. Her voice may be steady, but her face gives away how disappointed, how _broken_ she’s really feeling right now.

 

“Thank you, Ben.”

 

“Of course,” he says, giving her hand one last squeeze before reluctantly letting go. “Want to put on _Bridesmaids_ or something?”

 

Rey shakes her head. Her hazel eyes look so tired. “Not tonight. I just want to go to bed, honestly.”

 

“Of course,” Ben says. “Get a good night’s sleep. Maybe we can go get breakfast in the morning. I’ll treat.”

 

“You’re the best,” she says, closing the distance between them on the couch before wrapping her arms around his middle and hugging him.

 

Ben reciprocates, pulling her close to him and holding her tightly. He rubs small circles into her back, and after a moment, he feels her almost slump in his arms. She’s utterly exhausted, so after another few seconds, he pulls back so that she can head to her room and sleep off the terrible night she’s had.

 

When Ben meets her eyes again, he sees that Rey’s eyes are wet, though she hasn’t shed any tears. She hates crying in front of people, Ben knows, so he doesn’t delay her further and only wishes her a quick goodnight.

 

Ben hangs back in the living room for about thirty more minutes before finally heading to bed himself. As he passes Rey’s room, he hears soft sniffles coming from inside. He wants desperately to open the door, go in there, wrap her up in his arms once more and hold her until she falls asleep…but he doesn’t. They may sort of cuddle on the couch from time to time, but they don’t get in bed together. So instead, Ben continues on to his room and sends up a prayer that Rey will feel better in the morning.


	4. Date 4

Ben had been dreading this moment all week.

 

He’d really been hoping he could lock himself in his room and avoid seeing the guy altogether, but when a knock came from their front door, signaling Rey’s new date’s arrival, Rey was still getting ready in her room. This meant Ben had to be the one to let him inside.

 

Apparently, Rey had told her date—Preston—ahead of time that she lived with her male friend because when Ben opened the door, the guy didn’t seem at all phased to be greeted by a man.

 

“Come on in,” Ben says, gesturing inside the apartment, while trying to discreetly size up the guy. “I’m Ben.”

 

“Preston,” the guy responds, walking past Ben, while not even bothering to look him in the eye.

 

Immediately, Ben knows exactly what kind of guy Preston is. He went to prep school with a hundred guys like him. They were rich, well-dressed, and massive pricks. Ben can’t see Rey going out on more than one date with this guy; he isn’t her type.

 

“She’ll be out in a minute, I think,” Ben tells Preston, who is now walking around and eyeing their apartment. “I’ll go check on her.”

 

Preston nods in response.

 

Ben walks down the hall and knocks on Rey’s door.

 

“Come in!” she says from the other side of the door.

 

Ben enters Rey’s room, closing the door behind him. He sits down on the edge of Rey’s bed and watches as Rey stands in front of the mirror above her dressed, putting on mascara.

 

“He’s here,” Ben says.

 

Rey returns the mascara wand to its tube and turns around to face Ben. She is dressed fairly casually, wearing a pair of dark skinny jeans, a plum sweater and ankle boots. As usual, Ben thinks she looked stunning.

 

“I’m nervous,” she says, walking over to where he is sitting.

 

“Don’t be,” he replies simply. “You’re you.”

 

Rey rolls her eyes. “What does that even mean?”

 

Ben stands, and she’s close enough now that he can put his hands on her shoulders. “You’re _Rey._ You’re smart, you’re attractive, you’re the strongest person I know, you’re—”

 

“You’re saying I’ve got brains, beauty, and brawn,” she snorts, interrupting him.

 

Ben chuckles. “I meant more strong in an emotional sense, but sure. That works too.”

 

A smile spreads across her face and she puts her arms around his torso.

 

“My point is,” he says into her hair, “You’re the whole package. If it doesn’t work out, it’s this guy’s fault, not yours.”

 

Rey’s arms squeeze his middle a little tighter. “Thank you, Ben.”

 

“Of course, Rey.”

 

As much as it pains him to do so, he’s the one who pulls back from the hug. Rey really should get out there and greet her date, lest he think Rey and Ben were doing something improper in her bedroom.

 

Rey leaves with Preston shortly after, and Ben settles on the couch to watch the _Harry Potter_ marathon that’s playing on the television.

 

It’s only when he wakes up in the middle of the night to an infomercial about denture glue that Ben realizes Rey never came home. Worried, he grabs his phone from the coffee table and sees she texted him around midnight—almost three hours ago. He opens the text and reads _I’m not coming home tonight. See you tomorrow ;)_

A massive ache settles in Ben’s chest as he quickly types out a short reply.

 

_Okay, thanks for the head’s up._

He then turns off the television, gets up, and heads to bed, all while trying not to think about the activities Rey partook in tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so clearly this wasn't a bad date for Rey. But I'm sure Ben considers it to be one. 
> 
> As always, thanks for reading :)


	5. Date Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updating a few days early because I don't think I'll be able to update on Sunday. The final chapter might take a little longer to come out. I've written most of it, but I don't know if I'll have time to finish it by next Sunday.

It’s Saturday morning, and Ben is sitting at a coffee shop, grading papers. In the past he and Rey might have gone out to brunch together, but over the past three months she’s been spending the majority of her time with Preston.

 

Ben hates it.

 

He knows he should be happy for her. And in one way, he is. Rey is happier than she’s been in months, and he’s glad for that. But Ben’s heart breaks a little every time Rey walks out the door to meet him up with him, or every time Preston comes over, or every time Rey doesn’t come home for the night. Thankfully, Preston hasn’t spent the night at their place; Ben isn’t sure that he could handle that.

 

Before, when Rey was just going on dates with random guys, Ben thought he could deal with it. He didn’t _like_ it, but at the end of the night, it was Ben that she came home to. But with Preston, it’s different. This is the longest relationship Rey has been in in years, and Ben has the horrible realization that he may have lost his chance with her.

 

When he gets to his ninth paper, his phone, which is laying face down on the table, rings. He quickly turns it over and sees that Rey is calling.

 

It’s a little strange that she’s calling. She’s been out of town since Thursday morning. She and Preston took a long weekend to go visit his parents in the Hamptons. She had been so nervous about meeting them, and Ben had to calm her down over and over again in the week leading up to it.

 

“Parents love you,” he had told her. “You’re a damn delight.”

 

“How do you know parents love me?” she had asked, wringing her hands in her lap.

 

Ben had shrugged. “Well, my parents love you.”

 

It had calmed her down a little bit.

 

Curious as to why she’s calling, Ben answers his phone.

 

“Good morning,” he says, keeping his voice light. “Having a good time?”

 

“I need you to pick me up from the airport,” she tells him, skipping any greeting. “I get in at 3:45.”

 

“The airport?” Ben asks skeptically.

 

“Yeah, I’m coming home.”

 

Her voice is tight; Ben can tell. Because of this, he uses his most gentle voice when he asks his next question.

 

“With Preston?”

 

“No.”

 

“Oh. Um, okay. I’ll be there at 3:45.”

 

“Thank you, Ben,” she replies.

 

“Of course. Have a safe flight.”

 

***

 

Ben has been waiting at the airport for just under thirty minutes when Rey texts him letting him know she's just landed.

 

Anxiously, he makes his way over to the baggage claim area to wait for her, keeping his eyes on the escalator that Rey will be coming down on.

 

When a large amount of people start making their way down the escalators, Ben’s eyes begin scanning for Rey. He spots her almost instantly, and a second later, her eyes find his. The corners of her mouth lift up into a small smile, but Ben can tell it’s forced.

 

He quickly walks toward the bottom of escalator and gets there just as she is getting off.

 

“Hey,” he greets gently.

 

“Hi,” she replies, sounding utterly defeated. “Thanks for picking me up.”

 

“Of course.”

 

He wants to hug her. She looks like she _needs_ a hug. But before he can put his arms around her, she walks away for him and towards the luggage carousel, having spotting her bag.

 

Ben follows her and takes the bag from the carousel before she gets a chance.

 

“I’ve got it,” he tells her. “You just hold on to your carry-on.”

 

She only nods in response.

 

He and Rey walk to his car in a heavy silence. There are so many questions Ben has, but he doesn’t want to push Rey for answers.

 

Once they’re in the car and on the road, Rey lets out a massive, shuddery sigh.

 

“We broke up,” she says.

 

Ben could have figured that, but he remains silent and only nods in response.

 

“I was right about his parents. They didn’t like me.”

 

 _How is that possible_? Ben thinks.

 

“They didn’t like me and were as rude as they could be to me, while still pretending to be polite. Thursday night after they had gone to bed, I mentioned it to Preston, and he acted like it was all in my head. And for a second he almost had me convinced that that was actually the case. But then, Friday the exact same thing happened. His parents just kept making these condescending remarks _all day long_. And Preston just sat there and let it happen. By that evening, he and I got into a massive fight. He refused to defend me and still insisted that his parents’ behavior didn’t ‘mean anything.’ So I bought a ticket home.”

 

“I’m so sorry, Rey,” Ben says softly, his heart aching.

 

She shrugs, clearly trying to be cavalier about the whole thing. “Whatever. There are other fish in the sea, right?”

 

It’s the trite expression that confirms for Ben that Rey is absolutely not okay right now.

 

He reaches over and takes her hand out of her lap and squeezes it briefly before letting go.

 

“I know it probably doesn’t help to hear, but you were too good for him. By a long shot.”

 

“Thanks,” she all but whispers. She then sniffs a little, and he eyes her out of his periphery. Tears aren’t yet falling, but Ben knows they’re close.

 

“Are you hungry?” he asks, trying to change the subject a little. “Did you want to stop and get a quick late lunch?”

 

“I really just want to go home, take a hot shower, and crawl into bed.”

 

Ben nods. “Okay, then let’s go home.”

 

Once they get back to their apartment, Rey immediately goes into her bathroom to take a shower. While she does this, Ben paces in the kitchen, looking back and forth in the sparse pantry and even sparser refrigerator, trying to brainstorm something to cook them for dinner. Finally, he decides to just order Chinese takeout.

 

He goes to Rey’s bathroom and knocks on the door. He can hear that the water is no longer running, so she must be close to done.

 

“Rey?” he calls after a moment when she doesn’t respond to his knock.

 

Still no answer.

 

“Rey, are you okay?”

 

When there’s still silence, a panicky feeling spikes in his gut. He doesn’t want to disturb her, but she hasn’t responded and he’s growing concerned that she might be physically injured somehow.

 

“Rey, I’m going to come in, okay?”

 

At this point, he’s unsurprised when there’s no answer.

 

Gently, he opens the bathroom door and the image he sees before him splits his heart in two.

 

Rey is sitting on the bathroom floor with her back against the counter. She’s changed into an oversized t-shirt (not one of his) and she’s got a towel on top of her head. She’s staring at the wall across from her and tears are steadily falling down her cheeks.

 

“I’m fine,” she says, her voice breaking. She doesn’t look at him.

 

“You’re not,” he responds plainly, still from the threshold of the door.

 

She shakes her head but doesn’t say anything more.

 

Gingerly, Ben makes his way over to Rey and sits down beside her. All he wants is to put an arm around her and let her cry out all of her tears against his chest, but he refrains for the moment.

 

“I’m never going to be the right one, am I?” she says, sounding so broken. “I go on all these dates. And I think, well surely one of these guys is going to be the one for me. But they never are. And now I’m starting to wonder if it’s not them, and, if instead, it’s _me._ ”

 

“It’s not you,” he murmurs. Like Rey, his gaze is on the wall in front of him.

 

“I think you had the right idea,” she says as if she hasn’t heard him. “You don’t date, and you don’t come home at the end of the day disappointed, or worse, heartbroken.”

 

Ben shakes his head. “No. I’m a coward.” He pauses for a moment and then adds, “You’re brave for putting yourself out there. Really fucking brave.”

 

“I’m really fucking _exhausted_. This whole dating thing is fucking _exhausting_ ,” she says, and the little control she had over her voice disappears completely.

 

She begins to sob, and now Ben does put his arm around her. Immediately, she curls up into his side, and he holds her tight as she soaks his t-shirt with her tears. Carefully, Ben removes the towel from her head so that she can better rest her head against him. He begins running his fingers through her wet locks, hoping the motion will soothe her.

 

Eventually, Rey’s sobs subside and her breathing evens out. Hesitantly because he’s never done this before, he presses a feather-light kiss to the crown of her head.

 

“Let's get you to bed, yeah?” he says softly.

 

Rey sighs and clears her throat. “Yeah.”

 

Ben stands up first and then offers her his hand. She gets to her feet and, in a move that surprises Ben, keeps her hand in his, even tightening her grip the slightest bit.

 

Ben leads her out of the bathroom and into her room toward her bed. Rey climbs into bed, and it’s only then that she lets go of Ben’s hand.

 

Ben kneels beside the bed and says, “I’m going to go order Chinese. It’ll be waiting for you when you wake up from your nap.”

 

“Thank you, Ben,” she replies, curling up into a little ball.

 

Ben brushes a stray piece of hair from her face and looks right into her still too wet hazel eyes. “You’re brave, Rey. You’re so fucking brave. Don’t ever think otherwise.”

 

She nods in response.

 

Ben gives her one last tender smile and then leaves her to her nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm aware that I've made Ben super soft and sweet in this fic. I really like this version of Ben; however, I think he might be a little too sweet. I'm currently outlining something that has Ben portrayed as less of a sweet guy, while still not quite being a jerk. (I love Jerk Ben; I'm just not sure I can write him.) I'm hoping to start putting it out by December.


	6. Date 6

It’s been three months since Ben picked Rey up at the airport after her disastrous weekend with Preston. Since then, she hasn’t gone on any new dates and has spent her weekends hanging out at the apartment with Ben.

 

Most of these weekends are spent ordering pizza, getting pleasantly buzzed on cheap wine or beer, and either playing a board game or watching a movie. For his part, Ben is extremely grateful for this bit of extra time with Rey. He knows it won’t last forever; eventually she’ll be ready to start dating again. But for now, Ben is content to enjoy these nights with her.

           

Currently, it's Friday evening, and Ben is sitting on the couch and watching the news when Rey enters the apartment.

 

“You’re home late,” Ben comments, looking over at her as she toes off her flats and walks over to him.

  

“It was a long day,” Rey sighs, collapsing on the couch beside Ben. Her back is against the armrest and she rests her feet against the side of his thighs.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Yeah,” Rey says, chuckling. “I’m just so happy the week’s over. I swear this new project is going to send me to an early grave. I think I’m going to treat myself to a massage soon. Or the very least, a pedicure with a foot massage added in.”

 

Ben glances down at the feet at his side and fights the pink color rising on his cheeks, as he says, “I could give you a foot massage?”

 

Rey’s eyes widen and she lets out the most _adorable_ giggle. Ben’s certain the pink on his cheeks has changed to a deep red.

 

“I mean, if you’d like?” he adds, trying to appear nonchalant.

 

“Yeah. Yeah, sure,” she says, before plopping her feet on his lap.

 

Ben gently begins to knead her feet. He’s never done this before, and at first, he’s not sure he’s any good at it. But then Rey’s back slides down the armrest until only her head is resting against it. She lets out a contented sigh, and Ben feels encouraged.

 

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Rey says, “I think I’m ready to get back out there.”

 

“Get back out there…?”

 

“Dating. I think I’m ready to put myself out there again”

 

Ben’s heart drops into his stomach and his fingers freeze on her feet. “Oh.”

 

“Yeah.” Ben’s looking over at her, but Rey’s gaze is up at the ceiling. “I was thinking about joining a couple of those dating sites—you know, the ones you pay for? I feel like they must be pretty good if they feel like they can charge money. And they’ve got all those fancy algorithms too.”

 

He doesn’t mean to, but Ben lets out a quiet scoff.

 

Rey sits up. “What?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

“You made a noise."

 

Ben sighs, rakes a hand through his dark hair, and tries not to be scared of Rey’s expectant gaze.

 

“I just think you don’t need all that,” he tells her, his voice soft and tentative.

 

She frowns. “Clearly, I do, or have you not noticed my deplorable dating streak over the past year?”

 

“Yeah, but—“

 

“Ben, I appreciate your confidence in me. I always have. It’s boosted me up so many times when I’ve felt like shit. But I’m doing this. I have a friend at work—Rose—who found her husband on one of these sites. _It works._ And maybe it won’t work for me. But I’m going to give it a try.”

 

Ben swallows and nods. “Okay.”

 

“Okay?” she asks, eyeing him carefully.

 

He nods again and tries to smile. “Yeah. Okay.”

 

“Good,” she replies, smiling a little too. “Now, I’m going to take a hot shower. Thanks for the massage.”

 

“No problem,” Ben answers, as he watches Rey get up from the couch and head to her room.

 

Once her door is shut, Ben pops up from the couch and begins pacing the apartment.

 

These last three months with Rey have been some of the best of their friendship. But now she’s ready to start dating again, and she wants to start using all those sophisticated dating sites. As much as Ben wants to believe those sites are all foolishness, he knows that a lot of times long term relationships and even marriages spring from them. And that scares the hell out of him.

 

He can't continue sitting in the apartment night after night as Rey goes out with guys.  _No._ He wants to be _the guy_ that Rey goes out with. That’s why he decides to take a gigantic leap and do something he never thought he’d have the courage to do.

 

When Rey gets out the shower, Ben stops his pacing and faces her.

 

“What are you doing tonight?” he asks her. He hopes she can’t hear the slight tremble in his voice.

 

Rey shrugs as she combs her wet hair with her fingers. “I don’t know. Maybe get started on some of those sites.”

 

“Let me take you out instead.”

 

Rey is silent for a second, and Ben can feel her hazel guys examining in him that intimidating way of hers. Finally, she grins and nods her head.

 

“Okay. What did you have in mind?”

 

He hadn’t really gotten that far, so all he thinks to say is, “Somewhere nice.”

 

Rey’s grin grows the tiniest bit bigger. “Alright. Let me just get changed.”

 

Ben goes in his room to change as well. He quickly puts on a crisp white Oxford shirt and navy blue chinos. He then runs a comb through his hair and spritzes himself with the cologne his mother got him last Christmas.

 

When he finishes and exits his room, he sees that Rey is still in her room getting ready. He really hopes she won’t be too much longer. If she leaves him with too much time alone, he’s going to lose his nerve and treat this as two friends going to a nice dinner, and not what he wants it to be: a date.

 

Fortunately, Rey comes out before he has the chance to spiral, and when Ben sees her, his heart flutters in his chest.

 

She’s wearing an A-line navy-colored dress with spaghetti straps. Her face has very little makeup on it, with the exception of a deep plum lip, and her hair, which is now dry, is sleek and straight. She’s dressed up— _for him_ , he hopes—and Ben is so overwhelmed by how beautiful she looks that he has to stuff his hands in his pockets and focus his gaze right above her to stop from fidgeting or gawking.

 

“You ready?” she asks.

 

“Yeah,” Ben says, nodding. “I was thinking Angelo’s. That sound good to you?”

 

“Sounds great. Who’s driving?”

 

“I’ll drive,” Ben responds quickly, as he ushers her out the door, all the while fighting the urge to put his hand on her lower back.

 

Maybe later in the evening, if things go well, he will.

 

As they approach his car, Ben recalls his mother’s do's and don'ts when it comes to dating: _Do open the car door for your date._

So, that’s what Ben does. He follows Rey to the passenger’s side of the car and opens her door for her. When he does, she looks up at him, surprise painted on her face. Ben somehow manages to maintain eye contact with her, and gives her a crooked, bashful grin. When he does, her face breaks out into a beaming smile.

 

When she’s situated in her seat, Ben shuts her door and makes his way to the driver’s side of the car. Once he settles into his seat and pulls the door closed, Rey lightly touches his arm.

 

“You know, this is beginning to feel a lot like a date,” she says, still beaming.

 

“Would you mind if it was?” Ben asks, as his bashful grin begins to morph into a smile mirroring her own.

 

Rey shakes her head and squeezes his arm. “Not at all.”

 

Now that they’ve established that this is a date, at first Ben thinks that things might change between them, but to his relief, they don’t. Conversation runs smooth all throughout the car ride and throughout dinner. The only difference is they both keep smiling these big, goofy smiles and they both blush whenever they catch each other staring.

 

Finally, just after they order dessert, Rey clears her throat and puts her hands on the table.

 

“This was lovely, Ben. Thank you.”

 

“You’re welcome. Would you…be interested in doing it again?”

 

Rey’s eyes light up and she nods. “Absolutely.”

 

Ben’s heart swells in his chest. “Really?”

 

“Yes,” she replies adamantly. She then gives him a more serious look. “But Ben, I’d like to know, um, why this has never happened before?”

 

“You mean—“

 

“A date,” Rey finishes for him. Ben sees her cheeks tint pink as she says the word. “A proper date.”

 

“Well,” Ben begins quietly, “You never expressed any interested.”

 

“I’ve always been interested,” Rey says shyly, her eyes darting down at the table for a moment before looking back up to meet his. “The only reason I never said anything is because you always said how much you hated dating. I just figured you were happy living the bachelor life.”

 

Ben lets out a short laugh. “I only said that because I had no interested in dating anyone that wasn’t you.”

 

Rey’s eyes widen and she bites her lower lip. “Seriously?”

 

“Yeah,” Ben tells her. He reaches across the table and grabs Rey’s hand, which is resting on the table.

 

They stay at the restaurant all night and talk until their waitress politely tells them that the establishment is closing and it is time to leave.

 

They exit the restaurant hand-in-hand and make their way two blocks down the street, where Ben had parked his car. Just as he did before, he goes over to the passenger’s side of the car to open the door for Rey, but as he does, Rey grabs him, spins him around to face her, and throws her arms around his neck.

 

His brown eyes meet her hazel ones and for a second they just stare at each other, drinking in each other and the moment. It’s not nerves Ben sees in Rey’s eyes; it’s anticipation and excitement. He’s certain she must see the same in his eyes. Then, at the exact same time, they lean forward and close the distance between them.

 

Kissing Rey is better than Ben could have ever imagined (and he’s definitely imagined it), and to his slight surprise, there’s no hesitation as they figure out how to kiss each other. Ben can feel Rey instantly sink into the kiss and is incredibly pleased when she deepens it only moments after their lips first lock. His hands then go straight to her hips, pulling her as close to him as possible, while her hands move up from around his neck and begin combing through his hair.

 

As time passes, the passionate kisses between them grow more tender and eventually devolve into short pecks, and when Ben finally does pull back to get a look at Rey’s expression, what he sees is a look nothing short of joyous.

 

It’s early and Ben can’t be certain, but he has a good feeling that tonight might have been Rey’s last ever first date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all, folks!
> 
> Right now, I'm working on a series of short one-shots in various universes that I'll probably combine into one piece, and I'm working on outlining a multi-chapter fic based on a cheesy RomCom that I adore. I don't know when either of these will see the light of the day because I'm super busy right now, but be on the look out if either of those fics sound interesting.
> 
> Thank you for reading! I've enjoyed sharing this :)

**Author's Note:**

> I hate posting works that I haven't already completed, but I've decided doing so will be the only way to motivate me to take time out for writing now that school is back (and quickly getting crazy). I have half of this story already written, and I know how it will end, so I am confident that I will be able to complete it.
> 
> I don't know when I'll update next, but it will definitely be within the next two weeks. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!
> 
> [Tumblr](https://castle-and-crowns.tumblr.com)


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